New Orleans

Yesterday, I flew to New Orleans to photograph the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional Final between LSU and North Carolina.  This was a trip that I had been longing to make since the only prior connections I had to N.O. were a few nights there with my brother during Mardi Gras that left me broke (I was in college) and with a headache (too many hurricanes at Pat O'Briens) the next day, and the disturbing non-stop coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the latter being the precise reason I was looking forward to this trip.

Just like you, I watched Katrina unfold from the comfort of my home and office.  Throughout the course of that week, I watched in horror as New Orleans descended into chaos as the levees broke and flooded the city.  We all know how bad it truly was, however, seeing it on television, the internet, in newspapers and magazines kept us so far removed from the tragedy that it felt like I was watching some twisted social experiment in which the people of New Orleans were left to fend for themselves in a lawless, crippled city from which they couldn't escape.  I constantly found myself yearning to watch MORE of the coverage despite the fact that I felt increasingly depressed and helpless with each passing minute of it.  But I couldn't stop.  I asked Why? How? and more importantly This is happening in America?  Even though I was never quite able to answer these questions at the time, they never faded from my conscience and I hoped my trip to New Orleans would help me better understand what happened.

I landed at about noon, quickly gathered my bags and headed over to grab my rental car.  It was a beautiful spring day in Louisiana and the lady behind the counter was nice enough to give me a convertible...Sweet success!  I drove to downtown and took a quick tour through a couple blocks of the French Quarter before I made my way over to the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish.  If you recall, these are two areas in which thousands of New Orleanians were stranded on their rooftops and rescued by helicopter.  As I passed through the neighborhoods, I couldn't believe my eyes.  All of the questions, emotions and sadness that I had experienced while watching it unfold on TV came rushing back.  I couldn't wrap my thoughts around the entire blocks of abandoned houses that are set for 'involuntary demolition.'  For every house whose owner has come back to repair it, there are a dozen around it that are crumbling, being used by squatters, or filled with waterlogged housewares and furniture.  Seeing destruction on such a massive scale is overwhelming, and I could not help but think about all of the life, energy and vitality these neighborhoods once contained.  Now it is a wasteland of shoddy construction that Katrina chewed up and spat out.

I managed to find a couple of people and spoke with them at length about how the recovery is going and most of them agreed that it will take at least five, if not seven to ten more years before the city is back to 'normal.'  However, in facing this challenge, these people were some of the happiest I've come across in quite some time which can only be attributed to the fact that they've been to hell and back and ANYTHING is better than what they experienced three years ago.

I hope you can look at these photos and see there is still a ton of work to be done in New Orleans.  Yes, I'm sure you know already know that.  But if you find yourself down there at some point, take some time to leave the comforts of the French Quarter to see with your very own eyes what happened to these people and their homes.  It's the only way you'll get a firm grasp on the magnitude of work that needs to be done.  While you, nor I will ever be able to answer the How? or Why? questions we've all had regarding this horrible event, visiting the place where it all happened will bring you a sense of clarity that the TV, internet, magazines and newspapers don't provide.

Enjoy the pics, 

-TSB2

(I'll add some commentary to the pics later...I've got to catch a flight!)